Apr 10, 2013

German engineering and electronics giant Bosch has opened its first retail branch in Myanmar, offering high-tech electronics devices and systems with a focus on security at the outlet in Yangon.

Chan Yit Ming, the company’s vice-president for Southeast Asia sales, told Eleven Media that the company also had seven authorised dealers here and that it was working with the Myanmar Fire Services Department to develop fire prevention systems. Bosch plans to help develop a centralised monitoring system for fires, he said.

Chan Yit Ming said Bosch had been studying opportunities in the Myanmar market since last June and decided to move up its plans to open a retail branch here because the opportunity was too big to miss. It plans to open more outlets to sell security devices and systems, he said. He did not say how many branches it would open or when, however.

John Naing, director of Bosch dealer Ocean Emerald Pearl Group, said fire alarm systems were the focus because household fires made hundreds of people homeless here each year.

Bosch has factories in Vietnam and Cambodia and may build one here, it said. Chan Yit Ming said sales were rising quickly in Asia.